Convertible passenger-car.



PATENTED- NOV. 3, L903.

A. KIMBLE. CONVERTIBLE PASSENGER OAR.

APPLIGATIUN FILED AUG. 14, 1903.

aizidrew Jfiz'nnZZe.

A m fiNEYS NITED STATES Patented November 3, 1905 ANDREW KIMBLE, OFZANESVILLE, OHIO.

CONVERTIBLE PASSENGER-CAR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 743,291, dated November3, 1903. Application filed Augustil l, 1903. Serial No. 169.510. (Nomodel.)

useful Improvements in Convertible Passen-.

ger-Gars, of which the following is a specification.

My invention is an improvement inthat class of passenger-cars which areconvertible-that is to say, adapted to be converted or changed from anopen or summer car to a closed or winter car, or vice versa.

It is the object of my invention to provide such construction andcombination of parts as will enable the conversion to be elfected. witheconomy of material and with despatch.

In other Words, I aim to employ a minimum number of parts which may beproduced at small cost and to adoptsuch construction as will enable thedesired change to be effected in a short space of time with littlelabor.

The details of construction, arrangement, and combination of parts areas hereinafter described, reference being had to the accompanyingdrawings, in whichi I Figure 1 is a perspective view illustratingvarious features of my invention. Fig. 2 is a detail section of thelower portion of one of the panels arranged between standards or postsof the car-frame. Fig. 3 is a view illustratinga modified means forlocking the panel in place. Figs. 4 and 5 are detail sectionsillustrating the construction of the upper portion of a removable paneland one of the posts or standards, respectively. Figs. 6 and 7 arerespectively perspective and :sectional views of the support for therunningboard.

In Fig. 1, 1 indicates one of the sills or bottom timbers of acar-frame, 2 the top bar or stringer, and 3 vertical posts or standardsarranged inte'rmediately of and connecting the parts 1 2. At their upperends the said standards 3 are provided with tenons which are mortisedinto the stringer 2, and the same are further secured by means of anarrow steel plate 4, which is arrangedin a rabbet 5 of the stringer andsecured by transverse bolts 6. An outer or cap plate 7 is applied tocover both the stringer and securing-bar 4:, as shown. The lower ends ofthe standards 3 are halved or cut away, as illustrated, thus forming atenon 3, which enters the corresponding mortise in the sill 1. A broadsteel cap-plate 8 is applied to the outer side of the sill 1 and securedby bolts 9, which pass also through the sill and tenon 3, and likewisethrough a hanger 10, which extends downward and supports the hingedrunning-board 11, together with a guard-board 12. It will be noted thatthe cap-plate 8 is constructed in angle form, and thus extends under thebase or lower side of thesill 1, so that the latter is greatlystrengthened and stifiened and may therefore be made of less thicknessand lighter than would be otherwise practicable. The joists or rafters13 are rabbeted and arranged in corresponding m'ortises in the stringer2 and secured by vertical bolts, as shown.

14: indicates a portion of the roof proper of the car, which is laiddirectly upon the joists or rafters 13 and extends over the upper edgeof the cap-plate 7.

By the above-described construction and combination of standards, sill,stringer, and the various parts by which the same are socured I form askeleton frame possessing great strength, stifiness, and lightness andwhich may be produced at small cost.

It will be understood that for summer use the spaces betweenthestandards and the sill and stringer are not closed, but left entirelyfree and open, so far as any rigid structure is concerned, curtains onlybeing provided for use in closing the spaces in case of rain. As shown,the posts 3 are provided-with lengthwise grooves 15 and a pocket 15 atthe top for receiving a curtain and curtain-roller, which may bearranged andadapted for use in the usual way. When the car is to beclosed or converted for winter use, the spaces between the standards areprovided with windows 16 17 and panels 18, the details of which will nowbe described. The left-handstandard is shown provided with a groove 19,which leads upward into an enlarged groove 20,

formed in the upper portion of the post. The

lower terminal of the narrower groove 19 is near the middle of thestandard, which is bent outward at that point, so as to form a slightobtuse angle in order to provide for greater spacein the upper portionof the car. It will be noted, further, that the standard is cut awaybelow such point, and therefore the windows 16 and 17 may be inserted atthat point and slid upward into their proper places. The narrower andupper window 16 is first slid up and adjusted in the enlarged grooves20, so as to occupy the front portion of the same and rest upon theshoulders 21. The larger window 17 is then slid up in the grooves 19until its upper edge or top bar lies inside the lower bar of the upperwindow, in contact therewith, as shown, and thus serves to hold theupper window in place. A spring of suitable construction or other deviceis employed in the upper portion of the upper groove 20 for more firmlysecuring the upper portion of the upper sash 16 in due position. Thepanel 18 is constructed of a body portion and top and bottom bars 22 and23, respectively. The top bar 22 (see Fig. 4) is mortised or groovedlongitudinally in its under side to adapt it to receive the upper edgeof the panel proper, and it is provided on its upper side withlengthwise rib or flange extending upward and serving as a guard-holderfor the lower edge of the window 17. The said top bar 22 is furtherprovided at each end with recesses 24 for receiving projections 25,formed on the standards 3 at the lower terminal of the groove 19. Itwill be understood that the upper bar 22 is secured by suitable means tothe body of the panel, which is shown constructed of two thin portionshaving a suitable construction and ornamentation. These parts may bemade of wood or metal or any other preferred material having duerigidity, strength, cheapness, and other qualities required in practicaluse. The bottom bar 23 (see Figs. 1 and 2) has a downwardly-projectingflange that abuts the corner-ot' the sill l and is also cut away ornarrowed from the outer edge to the inner in order to enable the panelto be inserted from the outside by first setting the upper edge to wit,the top bar 22in place and then swinging the lower portion of the panelinward until the flange of the base-bar 23 assumes the position shown inFig. 2. It is obvious that this movement could not be effected if thebar 23 were not cut away or beveled on the under side, as shown.

I employ means for locking and securing the bar 23 to the sill 1 whichconsists of a lock 25, having a bolt 26, which may be thrown by means ofa key 27, inserted through a holein the outer side of the panel. Inplace of this device I may employ any other which is suitable for thepurpose-for instance, the mechanism illustrated in Fig. 3, whichconsists of a rotary disk 28, having a central opening forinsertion of aturning bar or key, and two rods 29, which are pivoted to the disk atopposite points, and thus adapted when the disk is rotated to beextended or retracted longitudinally, so as to engage with or disengagefrom the standards on opposite sides of a panel.

By themeans above described it is apparcut that the conversion of a carfrom summer to winter service may be easily and quickly eflected bysimply sliding the small window 16 upward into place, then adjusting thelarger window 17 below it, and next inserting the panel bodily, which iseffected by placing its upper edge in engagement with the projections 25on the standards and then swinging inward the lower portion of the paneluntil arrested by the flanged bar 23, when the lock is thrown fordetachably securing the panel in place. To convert the car from winterto summer use, it is obviously only necessary to reverse this operation.

' In practice suitable receptacles will be provided for storage of thewindows and panels, so that they will be duly preserved and kept inreadiness for reuse when required.

,In Fig. 2 I illustrate the attachment of a weather-strip consisting ofa rubber strip 30, which is secured toa hinged metal plate and thusadapted to lie in contact with the inner edge of the bottom bar23 andwith the top of the sill 1, so as to exclude wind and moisture, as willbe readily understood. A spring or springs or any other suitable meansmay be employed for holding the weatherstrip 30 in working position.When the panel is to be inserted or removed, the flexibility of thestrip and its projection below the adja cent portion of the bar 23enables it to yield or move laterally, so as to form no seriousobstruction.

In Figs. 1 and 4, 31 indicates a cushionback which is attached to thepanel in order to build it out the full width required and to cooperatewith a seat-back proper.

It will be understood that when the car is converted the run hing-boardor step-bar 11 is attached or detached correspondingly. Thus for winteruse it is detached and the hangers 10 are left in place as permanentattachments of the car. The detachable connection of the board 11 withthe hangers is eifected as follows: A cruciform hinge-plate 30 (see Fig.6) is screwed to the under side of the said board and is connected withthe eye of the hanger 10 by means of trunnions 31, that projectlaterally from a lug formed on the upper side of the hinge-plate. Thetrunnions enter inner slots 32 in the eye 33 of the hangers, the saidslots being open at the top, so that the hingeplate 30 may be readilyattached and detached by a simple vertical movement, in which case theboard is held in vertical position. The plate 30 has a rear extension ortoe-piece 34, that abuts the rear projection 35 of the hanger-eye 33when the'board 11 is in horizontal or working position, as shown inFigs. 1 and 7. Thus the trunnions 31 are the fulcra of the hinge-levers30, and the rear extensions are the points by which leverage is appliedin supporting the board 11 horizontally. I

I have devised for use in connection with the car-frame an improvedform, construction, and arrangement of seats whereby the entireconversion from summer to winter, and vice versa, will be convenientlyand cheaply cap-plates applied to the sills and stringers,

respectively, and serving as supplemental means for securing thestandards, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a convertible car, the combination, with the mortised top bar orstringer having its outer side rabbeted, of standards having tenonswhich enter the mortises, a metal bar arranged in the rabbet and boltedin place, and a cap-plate applied over the same andthe adjacent portionof the stringer,substantially as described.

3. In a convertible car, the combination, with the top bar or stringerhaving mortises and standards having tenons adapted to enter the latter,of a metal plate or bar applied to the outer side of the stringer andsecured by transverse bolts in the manner described,

whereby the standards and stringers are secured together as specified.

4. In a convertible car, the combination, with the sill having mortisesand standards having tenons extending downward and entering themortises, of ametal cap-plate applied on the outer side of the sill andsecured by transverse bolts, substantially as described.

5. In a convertible car, the combination, with the sill having mortisesin its outer side, of standards provided with tenons 3 adapted to lie insaid mortises flush with the outer side of the sill, and a metalcap-plate applied to the sill and bolts securing it thereto, the samepassing through the tenons and sill as specified.

6. The combination, with the mortised sill and standards having tenonsfitted thereto, of the metal angle-plate 8 applied to cover the outerand lower sides of the sill and secure the tenons in place,substantially as described.

7. The combination, with the sill having mortises, and standards havingtenons fitted in the latter, of a metal cap-plate applied on the outerside of the l sill, hangers for running-boards arranged on the outerside of the cap-plate in coincidence with the tenons of the standards,and transverse bolts passing through the said hangers, cap-plate,tenons, and sill, substantially as shown and described.

8. In a convertible car, the vertical standards provided with grooves inthe upper portion for receiving windows, and cut away and thus made ofless width in their lower portions, whereby they are adapted forinsertion and removal of windows and panels, substantially as described.

9. In a convertible car, the vertical standards having lengthwisegrooves which are enlarged in the upper portion and provided with ashoulder as shown, the lower portions of the standards being cut awayand thus made of less width than the grooved portion and provided with adownward extension of the shoulder formed at the junction of the widerand narrower portions, as and for the purposes specified.

10. The combination, with standards having a groove in the upper portionand their lower portions cut away on the front side so as to have lesswidth than the upper portions, of windows adapted to be inserted in thegrooves, and panels adapted to be inserted in the wider spaces below,and means for securing said panels in place, substantially as described.

11. The combination, with the standards having grooves which areenlarged and provided with a shoulder in their upper portions,

the lower portions being narrowed or reduced in width, of two windowsone of which is adapted to be inserted in the upper enlarged portions ofthe grooves and to be supported by the shoulders thereof, the lowerwindows being held in the narrower portions of the grooves and withtheir upper portions alongside of the lower portions of the upperwindows, and removable panels filling the spaces between the lowerportions of the standards, substantially as described.

12. The combination,with the vertical standards having downwardprojections at about the middle of their length, the portions belowbeing cut away, of panels adapted to be inserted in the spaces betweenthe standards and to engage the aforesaid projection, and means forsecuring the lower ends of the panels in place, substantially asdescribed.

13. The combination, with the sill and vertical standards having theirlower portions cut away and provided with projections at about themiddle of their length, of insertible panels adapted to fit tightlybetween the cut-away portions of the standards and having topbarsprovided with mortises for engaging the aforesaid projections, and abottom bar provided with a flange for engaging the sill, substantiallyas described.

14. The combination, with the sill and vertical standards, of a paneladapted to be inserted between the latterand having a bottom barprovided with a pendent flange adapted to engage the sill, and a lockingdevice consisting of a bolt adapted to work through the bottom bar andenter a mortise in the sill, substantially as described.

15. The combination, with the sill and vertical posts, an insertiblepanel adapted to fit closely between the lower portions of thestandards, and a bar formingthe' bottom of the panel, of a flexibleweather-strip applied at the inner edge of the bottom bar, substantiallyas described.

16. The combination with the car-frame and pendent hangers having eyesprovided with slots opening upward, of the running-board andhinge-plates secured thereto and having trunnions adapted to be insertedin and removed from said slots and a toe-piece extend- 5 ed rearwardlyand adapted to bear upward against the hanger, as shown and described.17 The combination of the sill, the vertical posts, a panel adapted tofit closely between the lower portions of the posts, a hinged plate atthe lower edge of the panel, and the TO Weather-strip applied to thesaid hinged plate, substantially as set forth.

' ANDREW KIMBLE.

Witnesses:

EDGAR E. BAGLEY, PERRY SMITH.

